Wednesday, February 05, 2014

Atheism in Iraq

In a poll released in April 2011, by the now-defunct Erbil-based Kurdish
news agency AKnews, ordinary Iraqi citizens were asked “Do you believe
in God”? The answers were quite surprising for this Middle Eastern
country, home to many holy sites for Muslims, Christians, Jews, and many
other religions; 67% answered yes, 21% probably yes, 4% probably no, 7%
no, and 1% had no answer.

According to Nawaf Al-Kaabi, a 23-year old university student from
Basrah in southern Iraq, the number of atheists could be much higher if
that poll was held in 2014.

“The new generation of Iraqis are tired of religious extremists and
politicians, who are responsible for the ongoing sectarian divide in the
country,” he says.

This could be another data point in the modern world pattern that religious skepticism takes off most in countries where religion becomes a tool of politics, and especially political conflict.

About Me

I am an Associate Professor in History at Shippensburg University, where I teach courses in Middle Eastern and world history. My two major research areas are the Middle East from the 7th through 10th centuries and the Persian Gulf from ancient times to the present. Nothing on this site represents an official position of Shippensburg University.